scholarly journals Public realm ethnography: (Non-)Participation, co-presence and the challenge of situated multiplicity

Urban Studies ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 004209802090426
Author(s):  
Alasdair Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Spatial Context ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Core Group ◽  
Group Activities

Against the backdrop of abstract accounts of a variety of processes associated with the ‘end of public space’ (disneyfication, commodification, privatisation, gentrification, securitisation and so on), the last few decades have witnessed a marked growth in ethnographic accounts of the production, meaning and experience of urban public spaces. Methodologically, studying these dimensions of public space ethnographically poses clear challenges for how researchers design and conduct their fieldwork: practically, how can fieldworkers participate in a socio-spatial context typically characterised by ‘situated multiplicity’ (Amin A (2008) Collective culture and urban public space. City 12(1): 5–24) and co-presence with strangers? Moreover, what do researchers do when there are no core group activities, institutional roles or (sub-)cultural practices to participate in? With these questions in mind, I first seek to review the practical fieldwork techniques used by ethnographers interested in studying the urban public realm. I then use this review to synthesise and distil a set of four interlinked fieldwork heuristics for public realm ethnography.

scholarly journals The Urban Square

1969 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Wiley
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Digital Medium ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
Urban Square

Emerging technologies challenge the conceptualization of contemporary urban public space, both in where it is located and of what it consists. With the advent of the digital medium and the internet, the public realm is expanded, dispersed and reconnected in new ways. At the same time, technologies profoundly impact the realization of apparently conventional public spaces, as architects' design process and building materials undergo technological renovations, staged in the digital medium. This paper explores how the public square can be reconceptualized as a place of convergence of the digital and physical domains.

scholarly journals Activating Data through Eco-Didactic Design in the Public Realm: Enabling Sustainable Development in Cities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4577
Author(s):  
Carmela Cucuzzella ◽  
Morteza Hazbei ◽  
Sherif Goubran
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Art And Design ◽  
The Public ◽  
Community Based Design ◽  
The City

This paper explores how design in the public realm can integrate city data to help disseminate the information embedded within it and provide urban opportunities for knowledge exchange. The hypothesis is that such art and design practices in public spaces, as places of knowledge exchange, may enable more sustainable communities and cities through the visualization of data. To achieve this, we developed a methodology to compare various design approaches for integrating three main elements in public-space design projects: city data, specific issues of sustainability, and varying methods for activating the data. To test this methodology, we applied it to a pedogeological project where students were required to render city data visible. We analyze the proposals presented by the young designers to understand their approaches to design, data, and education. We study how they “educate” and “dialogue” with the community about sustainable issues. Specifically, the research attempts to answer the following questions: (1) How can we use data in the design of public spaces as a means for sustainability knowledge exchange in the city? (2) How can community-based design contribute to innovative data collection and dissemination for advancing sustainability in the city? (3) What are the overlaps between the projects’ intended impacts and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Our findings suggest that there is a need for such creative practices, as they make information available to the community, using unconventional methods. Furthermore, more research is needed to better understand the short- and long-term outcomes of these works in the public realm.

scholarly journals Sociotope mapping: perceptions of public space at Ryerson University

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Afonso Magalhaes
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Landscape Architecture ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
School Administration ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
University Campus ◽  
The Public ◽  
Mapping Tool

Sociotope mapping is a tool that has been used to identify values in public spaces, as defined by the public. By developing an original sociotope map using the sociotope map methodology, utilizing the technique created in Stockhom, Sweden, this research attempts to understand the values of public space within and around Ryerson University, while providing a critique on the utility of the tool in this context. The information collected from an online survey will be analyzed and visually displayed on a sociotope map. This may be utilized by the school administration, municipal planners, urban designers or landscape architecture professionals to understand what concerns may be provoked by the development of certain spaces and the resources valued by the public in the public realm. This project explores how different public spaces within the Ryerson University Campus are utilized and how useful is the sociotope mapping tool in inferring these values. keywords: planning; sociotope; parks planning; perceptions of space; engagement; public consultation.

scholarly journals Children-friendly design of urban public space based on the study of Shanghai, China

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Li ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Motor Vehicles ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Outdoor Activities ◽  
Point Space ◽  
Sports Venues ◽  
Line Space ◽  
Safe Path

At present, more than 50% of children live in big cities. But with the increasing number of motor vehicles and shrinking public spaces , children have less and less opportunities for outdoor activities, resulting in obesity and sub-health problems. Therefore, it is very important to build children-friendly public spaces in metropolis. This study takes the Shanghai,china as an example.Firstly,through questionnaires,it is found that ensuring the safe movement of children and inspiring their spontaneous activities are key points to build children-friendly public spaces. Meanwhile, The public spaces near the home are the most used environment by children. Therefore, open spaces in metropolis areas need to be planned carefully for children near their homes. Then it is way much better to make sure children's places of daily life, such as homes, schools, green spaces, sports venues and so on, can be connected in a safe path. Secondly, for building the safe path for children ,the safety of each spot along the path is analyzed by SP method, which is a mathematical algorithm , in order to find the risk factors and to avoid them in the future. Then we establish the action plan of "line space + point space" to build the children-friendly urban public space system. Line space refers to meeting the basic safety space needs of children through the improvement of the routes to school, including reducing the impact of motor vehicles, safe road facilities, and enhancing road lighting system. "Point space" refers to the promotion of children's outdoor activities through the arrangement of multi-level outdoor children's playgrounds and green spaces, including safe green parks, security platforms and so on. Finally, it is hoped that the "Safety Line Space + Interesting Point Space" plan will establish a safe and inspiring path for children to travel, linking home, school, green space and sports venues, which they use mostly in their daily life. Then we can ensure the safe movement of children and inspire children's spontaneous games in big cities for a children-friendly goal

Analysis on Building Readable Image of Urban Public Spaces

2013 ◽  
Vol 409-410 ◽  
pp. 883-886
Author(s):  
Bo Xuan Zhao ◽  
Cong Ling Meng
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Space Images ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Good Image ◽  
The Public ◽  
The City

City, is consisting of a series continuous or intermittent public space images, and every image for each of our people living in the city is varied: may be as awesome as forbidden city Meridian Gate, like Piazza San Marco as a cordial and pleasant space and might also be like Manhattan district of New York, which makes people excited and enthusiastic. To see why, people have different feelings because the public urban space ultimately belongs to democratic public space, people live and have emotions in it. In such domain, people can not only be liberated, free to enjoy the pleasures of urban public space, but also enjoy urban life which is brought by the city's charm through highlighting the vitality of the city with humanism atmosphere. To a conclusion, no matter how ordinary the city is, a good image of urban space can also bring people pleasure.

scholarly journals A Multi-Level Path Analysis of the Relationships between the Momentary Experience Characteristics, Satisfaction with Urban Public Spaces, and Momentary- and Long-Term Subjective Wellbeing

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (19) ◽  
pp. 3621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weijs-Perrée ◽  
Dane ◽  
van den Berg ◽  
van Dorst
Keyword(s):  
Path Analysis ◽  
Urban Environment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Multi Level

Previous research has shown that the urban environment could influence people's behavior and wellbeing. However, little is still known about how the objective and subjective measures of the momentary experience of urban public spaces could contribute to the satisfaction with the urban environment of cities, which eventually could influence the momentary and long-term subjective wellbeing (SWB) of citizens. Therefore, the aim of this research is to gain insight into how momentary experience and satisfaction with the urban public space could contribute to the SWB of citizens, and thereby control for personal, contextual characteristics. Relationships were simultaneously analyzed using a multi-level path analysis approach based on a sample of 1056 momentary experiences of urban public spaces reported by 161 citizens of the urban area Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The results showed that personality and personal characteristics are highly important for explaining long-term SWB and subsequently long-term SWB positively influences momentary SWB (the degree of feeling secure, comfortable, happy and annoyed) together with the momentary satisfaction of urban public space characteristics. In addition, contextual characteristics, such as time/day and distance to facilities are important for explaining people’s momentary SWB. Policy makers and urban planners can use these results when developing policy and designing a healthy, attractive, livable and safe living environment for citizens.

scholarly journals Features of urban public spaces in the context of globalization

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-246
Author(s):  
K. L. Khomyakova
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Modern Cities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Essential Properties ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

The article deals with characteristics of urban public spaces, their role in the global transformation of the social relations system is determined. The ambiguity of assessing the impact of globalization on modern cities is due to the theoretical and methodological problems of modern sociological urbanism. There is no single approach among scientists to defining the concept of urban public space, which determines the relevance of the study of its interpretation and definition of essential properties. Public spaces are considered as a connecting element between the system and social levels of urban research, which correspond to the levels of integration identified by the modern sociologist E. Giddens. The article analyzes classical and modern approaches to the study of public space, there is reveals the course of evolution of sociological thought in relation to the formation of differentiation of types of spaces within cities. Based on the analysis of the works of modern sociologists and urbanists, such key features of public spaces as openness, socio-political neutrality, and symbolism were identified. Global processes and contradictions lead to an aggravation of the problem of the presence of the category of “Others” within public urban spaces, which are representatives of various segments of the population, with a variety of claims and interests. One of the consequences of the intensive development of digital technologies is a possible situation of “competition for the citizen” between traditional public spaces and online services. Assumptions are made about future transformations of social relations within public spaces as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

scholarly journals A Space to Call Our Own, an investigation into designing for play in urban environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hayley Webber
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Network Growth ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Social Fragmentation ◽  
Meaningful Activity ◽  
Holistic Understanding

<p>Play is an act of discovery and stimulation. As children, we play to learn and grow. As adults, we play for freedom and to escape from reality. The action of play is a largely neglected aspect of peoples experience in urban public space. It is the un-functional and impractical use of the environment that fulfils a human instinct and curiosity that can spark conversation and spontaneity in public spaces. The development of the built environment has centred on improving the efficiency of daily life and little attention has been given to the informal synergies that urban public space can enable. Yet this space plays a central role in the formation of our culture and communities. With increasing trends of migration and urbanisation, New Zealand has become a multicultural society, but the quality of our public spaces and a distinct lack of meaningful interaction is causing increased levels of social fragmentation. The universal action of play can be used as a design tool to increase the level of meaningful activity and interaction in these spaces.   This thesis aims to understand how the inclusion of play and playful behaviour can create polycentric environments that can contribute to the reversal of social fragmentation between our ethnic communities and improve social cohesion and resilience within Newtown and Berhampore, socially deprived suburbs in Wellington, New Zealand.   The method of this research focuses on combining methods of spatial assessment and community engagement to develop a holistic understanding of play across social, cultural and physical dimensions. Observational studies, public surveying and community workshops combined with a comparative study across a series of case studies provided a foundation of knowledge that was then able to be applied to the design of physical playful spaces.  The design response across three test sites vary in scale between small tactical additions and overall redesign of space. These responses display how play can facilitate new forms of social interaction and spark spontaneity. The improved sense of community, familiarity and overall playfulness, increase overall resilience and overturn effects of social fragmentation. This thesis demonstrates how landscape architects can engage with the concept of play to reignite passion within a community and support social network growth.</p>

scholarly journals A Space to Call Our Own, an investigation into designing for play in urban environments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hayley Webber
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Design Tool ◽  
Network Growth ◽  
Urban Public Space ◽  
Social Fragmentation ◽  
Meaningful Activity ◽  
Holistic Understanding

<p>Play is an act of discovery and stimulation. As children, we play to learn and grow. As adults, we play for freedom and to escape from reality. The action of play is a largely neglected aspect of peoples experience in urban public space. It is the un-functional and impractical use of the environment that fulfils a human instinct and curiosity that can spark conversation and spontaneity in public spaces. The development of the built environment has centred on improving the efficiency of daily life and little attention has been given to the informal synergies that urban public space can enable. Yet this space plays a central role in the formation of our culture and communities. With increasing trends of migration and urbanisation, New Zealand has become a multicultural society, but the quality of our public spaces and a distinct lack of meaningful interaction is causing increased levels of social fragmentation. The universal action of play can be used as a design tool to increase the level of meaningful activity and interaction in these spaces.   This thesis aims to understand how the inclusion of play and playful behaviour can create polycentric environments that can contribute to the reversal of social fragmentation between our ethnic communities and improve social cohesion and resilience within Newtown and Berhampore, socially deprived suburbs in Wellington, New Zealand.   The method of this research focuses on combining methods of spatial assessment and community engagement to develop a holistic understanding of play across social, cultural and physical dimensions. Observational studies, public surveying and community workshops combined with a comparative study across a series of case studies provided a foundation of knowledge that was then able to be applied to the design of physical playful spaces.  The design response across three test sites vary in scale between small tactical additions and overall redesign of space. These responses display how play can facilitate new forms of social interaction and spark spontaneity. The improved sense of community, familiarity and overall playfulness, increase overall resilience and overturn effects of social fragmentation. This thesis demonstrates how landscape architects can engage with the concept of play to reignite passion within a community and support social network growth.</p>

scholarly journals Design Strategies for Safer and More Inclusive Public Spaces

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Anton-Barco ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
The World ◽  
The City

Public space in the city is being continuously contested. The most compelling of these challenges comes from the recent terrorist attacks on cities across the world. While the awareness of the need to ‘design against terrorism’ and a demand for greater safety in public spaces has entered into citizen’s consciousness -given the perception of fear due to recent attacks- drastic security and surveillance measures usually go against a more open and inclusive public realm.

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